Peptide fragments having cell death inhibitory activity

Abstract

The present invention provides a peptide fragment or a series of peptide fragments having a cell death-inhibitory activity, having the amino acid sequence consisting of 103 amino acid residues at the C-terminal of selenoprotein P, or having said amino acid sequence with one or several amino acid residues therein being deleted, substituted or added, or having a partial sequence of either of the above amino acid sequences, a medicament for treatment comprising said peptide fragment or a series of peptide fragments, an antibody to said peptide fragment or a series of peptide fragments, and a method for screening a cell death-inhibitory activity using said peptide fragment or a series of peptide fragments. The preferable peptide fragment or a series of peptide fragments of the present invention has the amino acid sequences shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 and / or SEQ ID NO: 2 or has a partial sequence thereof.

Description

[0001]This application is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of PCT International Application No. PCT / JP99 / 06322 which has an International filing date of Nov. 12, 1999, which designated the United States of America and was not published in English.[0002]The present invention relates to a protein having a novel function. Specifically, the present invention relates to a peptide fragment or a series of peptide fragments having a cell death-inhibitory activity, a process for purifying said fragments, and an antibody to said peptide fragment or a series of peptide fragments. More specifically, the present invention relates to a peptide fragment or a series of peptide fragments that can be used as a medicament for protecting from exacerbation of conditions of, preventing or treating various diseases such as diseases related to cell death, or as an additive allowing for production of useful material by inhibiting cell death in cell culture, and an antibody to said peptide fragments ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent text describes a peptide fragment that has the ability to inhibit cell death. This peptide fragment is derived from a larger protein called selenoprotein P and has a specific amino acid sequence. The text also mentions that there are different forms of this peptide fragment that have different structures and biological activities. The technical effect of this patent is the discovery of a peptide fragment with excellent cell death-inhibitory activity, which can be used for various applications such as drug development."

Problems solved by technology

However, at present, the mechanism is not so simple that mere control of the causal substance and factors that have hitherto been established cannot afford sufficient clinical application.

However, these agents—must intracellularly be expressed for causing inhibition of cell death and effects can hardly be obtained by extracellular addition of these agents.

However, cell death cannot effectively be inhibited by these extracellular factors alone.

However, it is not all the cells that are put to death under certain conditions.

Indeed, although some factors are known that inhibit cell death, e.g. bcl-2, bcl-x, etc. as intracellular cell death-inhibitory factors, or SOD, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, etc., as extracellular factors, it is difficult to inhibit cell death in all types of cells by extracellular addition of these factors.

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